NYC mayor blames Trump, hate speech for rise in hate crimes

NEW YORK - Mayor Bill de Blasio says he believes president-elect Donald Trump is to blame for an increase in reported New York City hate crime incidents.

The Democratic mayor made the comments at a news conference Monday.

The topics included weekend threats made against an off-duty Muslim New York Police Department officer while she was with her teenage son in Brooklyn.

De Blasio spoke out against the attack on Officer Aml Elsokary (ah-MEHL' el-soh-KAHR'-ee) and said Trump used hate speech during his campaign. The mayor urged Trump to be more proactive in discouraging hate crimes.

The NYPD's Hate Crime Task Force has deemed 43 incidents possible hate crimes since Trump was elected a month ago. That's more than double the number cases reported during the same period last year.